Last Sunday a special flight landed in Chicago. There were dozens of democratic representatives from Texas on board. The parliamentarians had chartered the aircraft to leave their state in a hurry. After arriving in Illinois, they were taken to a temporary home by coach.
The Democrats group had fled Texas. Others moved to New York. It was the result of a high -rise political conflict with the Republican majority in the parliament of the State.
The Republican Governor, Greg Abbott, even issued arrest statements against the expired representatives on Monday. They also hang large fines above the head.
The bizarre flight had to prevent a quorum in parliament, a minimum number of representatives present that is required to put plans to the vote. Those plans include a reclassification of national constituencies in the state.
Trick is called ‘Gerrymendering’ in the US
Normally those districts are examined every ten years with the consent of both parties. The Republicans, who are well in the majority in the Texan house of representatives with 88 against 62, are now trying to force an interim change.
By transferring parts of red (republican) areas to blue (democratic), districts can be ‘flipped’ without losing others. The trick is in America Ranging named, after the 19one century governor who used a geographical reclassification for the first time as a manipulative electoral weapon.
It could now yield no fewer than five extra seats in the federal house of representatives in Washington in the coming conference elections of 2026.
Demonstrators in Austin, Texas, express their dissatisfaction with Republican attempts to rearrange the constituencies in the state to their advantage. © Getty Images via AFP
President Donald Trump had insisted on the operation. “A very simple reclassification,” he called it against reporters. Texas would also only be the beginning. More states, where Republicans are in the majority, can follow to increase the loot of conference seats. Among other things, Florida and Missouri were mentioned.
The operation must prevent the Democrats in Federal Washington from gaining a dominant position in the Congress in the Congress in the coming year. In 2026 a whole new house of representatives will be chosen and a third of the Senate.
Attempts to Impeachment Trump
If the Democrats succeed in breaking through the current tight majority of the Republicans in the house, they can make it difficult for the Trump government. That also happened at the mid -term of Trumps first presidency, including two attempts to impeachment.
The power handle in Texas is therefore closely monitored by both camps. Democratic governors in progressive states threaten with retribution. For example, Governor Gavin Newsom of California is shining from the same keg and to draw constituencies in his state to hijack Republican districts.
Flighted Texan Democrats hold a press conference after their arrival in the state of Illinois. © Getty Images via AFP
Illinois and New York also sounds imminent language. “We are at war,” said Governor Kathy Hochul from the latter state tough.
Copying the Texan approach is, however, complicated with a number of progressive state. In California, for example, the authority to reinstall constitutional districts was removed from politicians and deposited with an independent committee. Newsom must therefore first go to the voter to be able to put the procedure aside.
Hidden in garage
It is not the first time that a flight from a state is used as the ultimate agent in the US. Democrats from Texas also took the legs in 1979, 2003 and 2021 to block Republican chip plans. In 1979, representatives hid in a garage in Austin until the plan went off the table. The two later attempts ended less well.
Gouverneur JB Pritzker helps deported party members from Texas with housing. He is a descendant of the wealthy family that the Hyatt-Hotel group owns. © Bloomberg
In 2003, Democratic politicians from Texas camped for no less than 46 days in a different state. When one of the delegates no longer persisted and returned, the quorum was reached and the reclassification of districts was still approved.
In 2021, Democrats took the neighborhood to the capital Washington to prevent stricter requirements for voters in their home state. That resistance was broken after six weeks when some of the departed parliamentarians returned home.
This time Democrats from Texas have to sit out at least until November to be successful with their blockade. States must submit their plans for the midterms that month. Experts are not very optimistic about the chance of success, given the track record. Nostalgia, lack of family, as well as problems with housing are mentioned as a reason, although the latter does not seem major now.
The governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, to which the majority of the Democrats from Texas have flared, has promised logistics help. Pritzker is a billionaire and descendant from the Hyatt-Hotel group family.